First Down Kentucky: Nick Saban and his UK Connections

College football was already preparing for the greatest change in the history of the sport. Nick Saban threw a stick of dynamite on the fire. The greatest coach in college football history is hanging up his wicker hat for good.

Even though we’re only hours removed from the shocking news, we’ll be dealing with the aftershocks for months. The first question is, “Who’s going to replace him?” Once the first move is made, dominos will continue to follow elsewhere, with head coaches, coordinators and other assistants making moves to replace others around the country.

In addition to the moving parts among the coaching ranks, you also must consider the players on the move. A 30-day transfer portal window has opened at Alabama. Kentucky already picked up one Alabama transfer today, DB Kristian Story, and they may not be finished. The Wildcats were runner-ups in the recruitment of four-star WR Rico Scott. He could become one of many options for Kentucky during the fallout. Five-star WR Ryan Williams became the first recruiting defection following the news of Saban’s retirement.

Before we speculate too much further, let’s take some time to appreciate his legendary career and his connections to the University of Kentucky.

One of Saban’s Most Famous Plays was Against Kentucky

Nick Saban never lost to Kentucky. He was a flawless 6-0 during his time in Tuscaloosa and 3-0 against the Cats as the LSU head coach. Fortunately, the latter is just a footnote in his legendary career because the best play from his five years in Baton Rouge was against Kentucky.

Guy Morris had already received a Gatorade bath, yet instead of running the clock out before kicking the go-ahead field goal, Kentucky left time on the clock. Then, the Bluegrass Miracle happened.

This is what makes Saban the GOAT

Kobe Bryant gave us the term “Mamba Mentality.” All of the greatest have that drive, including Saban. The Bluegrass Miracle was made possible thanks to a loss from his first year as a head coach at Toledo. It’s a lesson he never forgot. The greatest coaches are also coachable, adapting and growing throughout their career.

He learned, quite literally, which way the wind blows.

“We got the ball and went ‘two-minute’ down the field at the end,” Saban recalled of that game against Central Michigan, a 13-12 result on Oct. 20, 1990 — and his first career loss. “It was a one-point game and we lined up to kick a field goal of like 25 yards or something. We had a pretty good kicker, and the ball just got about 5 yards from the crossbar and just stopped in midair.”

He took a deep breath, reliving a loss that still haunts him, and continued.

“A lot of people remember the Bluegrass Miracle when I was at LSU. Well, we had the wind in the fourth quarter, and it was a significant 30 mph wind probably. And when we threw the Hail Mary, they couldn’t judge the ball because it just kept going and going and going, and that’s how we won.

“That’s something I learned in that game [at Toledo]: that the conditions do affect the strategy of how you play.”

2020 Article by Alex Scarborough, ESPN

The GOAT Coached The Big Dog

Vince Marrow’s path to Kentucky would never have begun if not for Nick Saban. The Big Dog initially pursued college basketball, playing two seasons in his hometown at Youngstown State. Saban tried, and failed, to recruit the Stoops brothers to East Lansing when he was an assistant at Michigan State. When he became a head coach for the first time at Toledo, Saban finally got one of the Youngstown guys, convincing Marrow to play football for the Rockets.

Marrow recalled the first days of Saban’s Hall of Fame coaching career in a wonderful 2020 feature from ESPN. “It reminded me of the Junction Boys,” said Marrow. “I watched at least six or seven guys quit. They just couldn’t take it.”

Matt Eberflus, the Chicago Bears head coach, was also a teammate of Marrow’s on Nick Saban’s first squad at Toledo. Saban only lasted one season, departing to rejoin his pal Bill Belichick with the Cleveland Browns.

Witness to a Youngstown Robbery

Nick Saban has tunnel-vision to a fault. His focus caused him to miss things on the periphery. While recruiting in Youngstown for Michigan State, he was killing time with Mark’s ‘Uncle Bob’ Stoops at a local watering hole. The two coaches were elbows deep in football talk, moving salt shakers around the table to get into the weeds. Uncle Bob noticed someone smash a glass into the ground. He recently retold the story.

“I said, ‘Hey, buddy, is something wrong?’ 

“He said, ‘Hey, you (expletive), we just got robbed!’ 

“I’m like, ‘You’re blanking me.’ 

“He goes, ‘No, they had a shotgun pointed right at you two blank-holes.’” 

We May Not be Done with Nick Saban

Nick Saban has been setting up his life after coaching for a while. He’s appeared on the set of College GameDay once his team was eliminated from the CFB Playoff. He took on another regular role this fall at ESPN, joining Pat McAfee for a weekly segment. Front Office Sports reports the network has long eyed Saban as Lee Corso’s replacement, even though LC has a place on the set for as long as he wants. In all likelihood, we will still be seeing Nick Saban every Saturday for the foreseeable future.

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